Vanishing
by Veradyn
Summary: Robbie and Jade are locked together in a dark room - Is there any hope of escaping? Dark story. Rade -
1. Broken

Victorious FF 3: "Vanishing"

"Chapter 1: Broken"

* * *

**A/N: Hey Everyone! This is my attempt at a darker story. Be warned - this might get pretty gruesome in later chapters. Will label as T for now, but it will most likely change to M by the next two or three chapters. Hope you enjoy, and remember - Review for more!**

* * *

The blurry view of the aphotic room starts to unfold as his eyes flicker open. An awful molded scent fills the air, enough to bring the boy to gag. The room was lit by a lone meager torch at the opposite end of the room. All that can be seen with such little light is the corroded walls, and a dark figure, not much shorter than him, slouching down under their own weight, tied to what seems to be chains attached the ceiling of the room. Starting to fade out of his post-sleep confusion he is starting to get aware of his surroundings. He knows he's in a lot of trouble. Many parts of his body are aching in pain, and some sort of liquid – sweat or blood, or possibly even a combination of both, are descending from his forehead into his eyes. His hands are tied and locked by chain, much like the figure on the other side of the room, preventing him from wiping away it away.

With much hesitance he croaks out a greeting to the dark figure.

"H-Hello?" is all that is managed to be said, before gagging on the thick air. His throat feels torn from the inside, causing the small greeting to feel like he had swallowed a knife. The boy would ache out in pain, though he knows if he did it would just cause even more.

The figure moves; the slouching posture held for the duration of his consciousness starts to straighten out. The head begins to lift and stare in the direction of the boy.

"Robbie?" she returns. Her voice is very hoarse – scratchy sounding even. The pain overwhelms her as well as she starts to cough on the air.

"Y-yeah." With much resistance from his body, Robbie still manages to choke the syllable through his lips. Even though he is still in so much pain, he lets out a small smile. Though the voice was hoarse, and raspy, it was still very much recognizable. He knows that whatever situation they have landed in, with her here it will most likely be much easier to bear through.

She opens her mouth to say more, but nothing would come out; her beautiful voice being ripped apart by the shredded remains of her throat.

Within the silence, a clicking sound echoed throughout the room. A door on the opposite side of the room, next to the torch, swung open. Both of their eyes winced at the sudden bright light – but for a quick moment they were able to have a quick look at each other. Both of their faces were slashed and bloodied. Glasses broke on the boy, and the usually thick makeup, smeared down the cheeks of the girl. Confounded looks of anguish and fright painted across their face as they stared into each other's eyes. The light lasted for a mere two or three seconds, but it's as if they were locked in a trance between each other for hours.

The door closed and a large dark figure came barreling to the two of them chained to the far wall of the room. All can be heard are gruff sighs and various clanking sounds. Another torch is lit and placed in the holder in the middle of the wall between the two of them. Again taken back by the sudden light, their eyes shut in pain. Slowly their eyes open again - they notice the figure is gone – neither of them getting a clear sight at whoever it was. Before each of them was a tray of various ill-looking mashed up foods, and a bowl with multiple shallow cracks along the side of it filled with murky brown water.

Without delay both of them dipped their heads down into the water – almost instantly relieving the stabbing feeling felt for so long. They took no halts burrowing into the food – no matter how bad it tasted. The food crawled down their throats, leaving a malicious after-taste.

Now feeling somewhat better from the sharp pain from before, the two met eyes again. They examined each other further, taking in each cut, scar, bruise, and blood smear on the other's face. They were nothing less than disturbed at the sight of one-another.

Robbie's face is filled with various cuts, some large, and some small. The most distinct one being a very thin cut that tears down the left side of his face from his hair line that slithers downwards and to the right ending just above his upper lip. The right side of his face bears three horizontal smaller cuts across his cheeks, and then another on the right side of his upper lip. From his hair, a trail of blood inches down to the bridge of his nose, falling to the right, a little falling into his eyes, and continuing down his cheek, eventually dripping off of his cheek onto the ice cold floor. Black rings loop around both eyes, fading down into his cheeks. The glasses he wears are cracked, but not so much that he can't see out of them.

The girl's raven black hair is heavily tangled and various ends fly into the air. Her once pale skin covered in a layer of dirt. A lot of her face is covered in bruises, and there is a deep cut etched into the left side of her lower lip – blood still slowly dripping out of it. Her nose is also painted with a small blood stain. Her thick dark eyeliner is smeared down either side of her face.

Both dawn sullen looks, the edges of their lips pointing down – A look of hopeless almost. Neither of them had said a word since their small interaction earlier.

"Jade…" Robbie finally speaks up, after now taking in all that has happened. He opens his mouth to say more, but nothing comes out. He tries again….Nothing.

Never in a million years would he believe seeing it. If someone had told him yesterday that today would be the day he, or anyone for that matter, saw a moment of weakness in Jade, he would have laughed right in there face.

Jade doesn't return any words to Robbie – Still staring directly at him, deep into his eyes, an unknown fragile look masks her face, and a single tear slowly streams down her face.

* * *

**More to come, Thanks for reading!**

**-V  
**


	2. After the Rain

_Victorious FF 3: "Vanishing"_

_"Chapter 2: After the rain"_

* * *

The room was silent. There was a slight chill in the room – the cold stone floor nipping away at Robbie's feet. Not much has been said between the two since they have awoken. There have been a few instances where Robbie tried to start conversation, but the words were never met with a response. The torch that once lit the wall between the two has long been extinguished. Could she be sleeping? Could she still be too weak to talk? Was it possible that she was ignoring him? The abundant darkness concealed the answer.

Whatever the reason, Robbie had given up the attempt to converse with the raven-haired beauty. He feels that when and if she is ready to talk, she will. Not knowing when she will be willing to speak, nor unsure when the large man will return, Robbie uses this new found time of silence and nihility to recollect on his thoughts.

* * *

There was a time when I felt I was the luckiest man in the world. It wasn't too long ago I got the chance to accompany the girl I had had a crush on for the longest time to the Prome. It had been about two weeks after the breakup between her and Beck. Albeit a loss of a bet on her end, I was still more than happy to be the losing prize.

She drove up in her spotless behemoth of a truck. A black 2006 Ford F-150. She refuses to drive anything else. Her (also black) heels clacked against pavement as she stepped out of her truck. I stood in the doorway of my house, holding a bouquet of flowers. My eyes nearly fell out of my head when I saw her walk around the front of the truck. Queueing the 1990's, signature slow-mo walk, I gazed at the more than beautiful woman walking towards me. Her hair was done with slight curls, with purple streaks overlaying her perfect black hair. She wore a very tasteful black dress – one might see a celebrity wear to an awards show. No celebrity would be able to pull this dress off as well as Jade, though.

While she walked toward me, she belted out a sigh and rolled her eyes.

"You got flowers?" She asked in an annoyed voice.

"I uh- Yeah." I managed to spew out. Without a second thought I extended out my arm to hand her the flowers. Jade looked down at the flowers, and then back me, arching an eyebrow.

"You do know the only reason I'm going to prom-"

"Prome." I interrupt.

"….Right. Prome. The only reason why I'm going to …Prome… with you is because I lost a bet with Vega, right?" She asked, still holding the arched brow.

"Yeah. I know." I smile. "I know it's not technically a real date…But I'd rather have you as a fake date over anyone else as real date any day." I respond, keeping my smile intact. It was true after all.

Jade looked a bit taken back – she looked surprised. I gestured the flowers to her once more.

"Please. Take them."

Even if she doesn't feel like I'm a real date, I feel I should at least make it as real as possible. I know that I'm not the master of romance or anything, and after the night is done it will go back to Jade practically ignoring me, or "tolerating me," as she puts it…So I might as well live tonight up as much as I can, while it lasts.

Though still in a state of shock, a small smile lingers on her face for just a quick second. She takes the flowers from my hand.

"Thank you…"

I smile in return, and call back inside the door that we're leaving.

The prome, though only lasting three hours, felt like a century. In a good way, that is. I don't know what I did – but it went well. As we drove back to my house, Jade admitted that she actually had a good time, and be being her date wasn't "as terrible as what I'd thought it'd be." Believe it or not, I even got a quick peck on the cheek as well as I was about to leave the truck – though it was swiftly followed by a threat telling not to tell anyone, or else I wouldn't live long enough to tell anyone else.

That night I held the cheek that Jade had kissed – probably longer than I should have. It was weird. I had kissed every girl in our group on the mouth, except for Jade. That one time with Trina, and then with Cat as she tried to prove to me that stage kissing was nothing like kissing someone for real. Sikowitz caught Tori and I in a drive-by acting exercise, where I ended up kissing her three times. Not a single one of those kisses could even compare to the kiss on the cheek Jade had given me. The moment replays in my head over and over all night. Her soft lips pressed ever so gently on my cheek.

I used the bathroom before heading to bed that night. While washing my hands, I looked into the mirror, and there was the slightest outline of Jade's lips from some lip gloss she was wearing. I grinned like an idiot at myself in the mirror, turned off the light, and then headed off to bed.

Over the course of time, Jade and I started to get closer. I managed to convince her into going out on a date with me one night. It wasn't anything too fancy – just dinner at a local restaurant, and a movie. I didn't dare pick the movie though. Jade has very specific tastes when it comes to movies. She ended up picking a horror movie – something you really wouldn't expect when going out with a girl for the first time – but I knew Jade well enough to know that would make her happiest. I can't quite remember, but there might have been a moment during the movie where Jade and I held hands – Initiated by me, of course. I was the scared one during the movie, jumping at every creaking door, and the classic 'closing the medicine cabinet to see some horrible thing in the reflection' bit. At one point, I was so scared I grabbed her hand. Thinking back on it now, however, I'm sort of surprised she didn't pull her hand away. She just let me hold it.

At the end of the date, there was another kiss. This time it was actually on the lips. YES! I could die happy. Nothing in my life thus far had ever matched the happiness I felt when our lips met. When we pulled away, it was apparent to her too, at just how happy I was. She rolled her eyes, and a smile formed on her face when she saw the mile-long grin on my face.

"Good-night Shapiro." She said, once more rolling her eyes, holding the smile.

I opened the truck door, and non-comprehensible words fell out of my mouth as I stepped out of the truck and walked towards my house.

It wasn't too long before I officially asked her to be my girlfriend. I asked her out in the Black Box theatre, after a play where she was the lead role. It was exactly two months after our first "fake-date" at the prome. She had just walked off stage – I walked backstage to greet her with another bouquet of flowers. Little to my knowledge, though, did I know that the rest of our gang was hiding behind the corner of a wall when I asked her out. After Jade agreed (YES!), a squealing Cat darted from behind the wall and ran up to hug Jade as quickly as she could; actually lifting her up (Who knew Cat was so strong?). Andre, Beck and Tori followed – Andre patting me on the back congratulating me on my first girlfriend.

Beck had a very stern look on his face – It was his ex-girlfriend after all. He stared me down, and the rest of the group got silent. They all watched as Beck stood silent in front of me. After a few more moments of silence Beck reached out, held my shoulder and leaned in.

"You two kids have fun." He said. A smile shot on to his face, as well as everyone else's, and he pulled me in for a 'bro-hug'.

I was on cloud 9. I was happy, Jade was happy - Nothing could bring me down at that point. However, it seemed as though, that was the point life decided to stop giving me luck.

The rest of the group split their separate ways to go home. Jade was driving me home. We had stayed a bit later than the rest of them though, as Jade had to wash off the stage make-up and change back into her regular clothes.

By the time we got outside, it started raining – hard. We rushed across the parking lot to her truck. We climbed inside, and Jade started in up. She turned onto the highway – It was dark, rainy, and just overall bad driving conditions. Before anything could be said we found ourselves facing the headlights of a truck, a bit larger than ours, that lost traction and drifted into our lane.

The next thing I remember was Jade and I in just the worst positions, inside the smashed remains of her truck. Jade's face was littered with cuts and blood. There was a deep cut on her lower lip, and blood was cascading out of her nose. Her face was covered in dirt, and her eyeliner that she quickly applied after removing her stage make-up was now smeared down and across her face.

I closed my eyes for a brief second, and when they opened back up I was being wheeled into an ambulance on a Gurney. Jade, was in the ambulance as well – though she was sitting upright in one of the seats. A look of concern masked her face as she watched me. My eyes shut closed once again, and when I opened them this time, I was faced with an unfamiliar location. Not the Hospital – but this room… This cold, dark, stone room.

* * *

The silence broke, as the clinging of metal-against metal rang out in the room. The door opened, and the large man walked in. He stomped his way over to Robbie and Jade, and like the last time, set up the trays of food, lit the small torch between the two, and walked out of the room.

Robbie, again, winced at the sudden bright light of the torch – Not making out the face of the large man. When he regained his vision, he looked across the room to Jade, not even worrying about the food this time. His eyes were met with Jades. How long has she been staring in his direction, he wonders? She has a very cold, dejected look masked on her face. The two just stare and stare until Jade finally says something.

"I'm Sorry." Her eyes close, and she tilts her head down, nodding in slowly. A few exhales escape her throat.

"I am so…so sorry."

* * *

_**A/N: So what did you all think? Awesome chapter - Yes/No? Leave a review! Reviews to writers are like crack - You don't want to leave us without our fix, right? ...Right?**_**_  
_**

_**-V  
**_


	3. Vicarious

Victorious FF 3: "Vanishing"

"Chapter 3: - Vicarious"

* * *

_**A/N - Sup everyone! I know...It's been awhile since I've updated. It's been a rough work week (The curse of being a cook.) Anyways, I finally got the chance to write the next chapter. It's been bugging me for quite awhile that I haven't been able to write it. I think it turned out pretty well, so tell me what you think! **_

* * *

The darkness, once again shrouds the room. Jade has gone silent like before. It's just pure nothingness. The usual cold feeling of the room has been steadily getting colder; and the air has become thick, much like the first day here. Small, hush intermittent voices would sometimes pierce the silence – they seemed to come from nowhere. It was more than one voice – There were many different voices. Robbie couldn't hear what they were saying, but they were talking about him.

The familiar clang of the keys entering the lock on the door echoed throughout the room. Has is already been that long since the large man was here before to deliver the food?

Light footsteps advanced across the room. Either the large man lost quite a few pounds since his last visit – or this was not the same person. The torch was lit – and that thought was confirmed. The man stood in front of Robbie – staring directly into his eyes. It was quite strange – His face was concealed by a surgical mask, while the rest of his face melded with the backdrop of the room. His eyes, however, still intently glowed; the Emerald orbs examined Robbie up and down.

The tall, lanky man walked around to the back of Robbie and a click of key against lock was heard – and Robbie's arms forcefully dropped, almost bringing Robbie to his knees. His arm was grasped by the man, and Robbie was quickly thrown against the wall behind him. Robbie was too weak to fight – He just stood there, with his back against the wall, trying to keep himself up. The man walked around the hanging chains, and in front of Robbie. He knelt down and locked Robbie's ankles to a pair of metal cuffs in the wall. His wrists emulated.

Robbie followed the man with his eyes, as he made his towards the wall by the door. The man rummaged through a wooden crate sitting next the door for a minute or two and walked back with what seemed to be a tray of metal objects.

With all of the confusing, sudden events he almost forgot that Jade was still on the other side of the room. He directed his attention away from the man for just a second, and over to Jade. It seemed she was asleep. She just stood there, with her eyes closed. It was probably for the better, though. Whatever that was about to happen, Robbie wouldn't want Jade to witness anyways.

The man's face made it's way into Robbie's sight – Giving him a small scare. The man held up a very large and very sharp knife. Robbie's eyes widened – He was afraid. Is he really going to use that on him? Please no. Please don't cut him with that.

The man lowered the knife, and started to cut straight down Robbie's shirt; the tip of the knife just barely hovering over his skin. Robbie's eyes snapped closed and started to water – He bit his lower lip, and started to shake his head in fear. All noise was drained from his body. Even if he tried to scream, nothing but air would come out.

The cloth fell from his shoulders, and drifted down to the ground. The man held the knife back up to Robbie's face. Tears still poured down from his eyes.

"No…" Robbie mouthed. Again, nothing would come out.

The man continued to stare into Robbie's bloodshot, teary eyes. Not even a blink.

"No…" "No…" "No…" Robbie continued to try and say, still shaking his head back and forth.

The knife was lowered, and the freezing chill of the metal was felt against his torso. The biting chill slithered it's way down his chest and to his stomach.

A gasp of air heaved it's way out of Robbie's throat, as the first cut was made. The man continued, cut after cut, after cut.

Robbie's entire torso was stained in red. The crimson liquid flowed down each and every cut, staining the floor beneath him. This pain is the worst pain he has ever felt. Pieces of flesh were carved off, making their way to the floor as well. Slices, stabs, tears, gashes – all forms of the word were made. And yet…No sound came out.

After for what seemed like hours, the knife was put back into Robbie's view. The once shiny, silver knife was now dull, and stained with flesh and blood. The knife was put back on the metal tray, and Robbie's cuffs were undone.

Robbie instantly fell to his knees. His eyes focused on the puddle he now sat in. His eyes widened once more, and a panic attack ravaged his brain. He shook – tears cascaded from his eyes, and saliva fell out of his mouth and added to the puddle. His mouth tremored. A complete breakdown, and to think the man was just standing there watching him – No reaction…Nothing.

Watching…

Watching…

Watching…

Robbie lifted his head and looked across the room.

Jade…

She was…

Watching…

Her eyes fixated on the damaged boy. Her eyes matched his. Why did she have to wake up? Why did she have to see this?

Robbie looked back at the man, as his arms were once again grasped. He was forced into an upwards position, and was chained back into his original position.

So much pain. Robbie was almost hanging from the chains; his legs had pretty much given out at this point. The torch was extinguished, and the man left the room. The silence returned. Robbie was silent due to not being to say anything at all and Jade was silent because…Well…Robbie didn't know.

* * *

This was not the end of the torture. Every day, the tall man returned shortly after the large man brought in the food. Every day Robbie would be cuffed to the wall. The torture was varied, but nevertheless it always happened to him. Every day he would end up in a puddle of his own blood, sweat, and tears.

Luckily, Jade never went through this. She still felt the pain though. Every day she would have to watch him be in so much pain. Why did they have to be the ones in this situation? She knew it was bad for her to wish this cruelty on someone else…but why them? Why him…

She couldn't speak for herself too much…She probably deserved some of this but… Robbie.

He was a good person. He was nice to people, and yet was still ridiculed by them. He tried his best each day to be better at whatever he did. Sure they weren't the most normal things to be good at…Puppetry, Hamboning, Electronics, and even school. He tried each day to be better and better, but was still shut down others. Even his own parents were embarrassed by him at times. Every day he would still walk into school with a smile. It's one of the main reasons she loved him. He might not have been physically strong, like Beck, but he was one of the most mentally strongest people she knew. To watch him be that strong, to be forced to his knees each day. It was painful to watch…He didn't deserve this. Yet he was the one there every day.

She didn't say anything because really…There wasn't much to say.

How long could he last like this? Each day, he got worse, and each day she got better. His wounds got worse, and her wounds were clearing up. Why couldn't it have been her, instead?

"Robbie…" Jade said, breaking the silence. Her lip quivered – It was hard for her to speak after watching him go through so much. The boy across the room lifted his head. His eyes were bloodshot, and the cuts on his face were deep. Stains painted his face. It was hard to look at.

A noise released itself from his lips. It wasn't comprehensible…But she still managed to let out a soft smile. Even though it was hard to him to speak, or move at all…he still tried. He still stayed strong.

"Hang in there…Just…Please…" She interrupted herself.

"Please…"

"Stay strong."

…

* * *

_**Well, hopefully you enjoyed it. Also, I'd like to thank you guys for reading and reviewing. Also there will be an announcement soon on an awesome project having to do with Rade that will be coming out soon. So stay tuned for the next chapter to see the announcement! **_

_**Thanks,  
**_

_**-V**_


	4. Elegy

Victorious FF 3: "Vanishing"

"Chapter 4: Elegy"

* * *

**A/N: Hello everyone. Welcome to the final chapter of Vanishing! This was a very interesting chapter to write, so I would love to hear what you guys have to say about it. I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Robbie's eyes flicker open. It is very reminiscent of the day he first woke up in this room… This disgusting, filthy room. The days Robbie and Jade have spent here faded into each other, and it really isn't possible for him to count the amount of days, or even weeks they have been chained these walls. He just knows that there will be a man that brings in food, a man that tortures him, and a man who just visits occasionally, but pretty much does nothing. He stands in either the corner, or in between the too, sitting on an old wooden bench. He doesn't do anything to either of them, nor does he even speak to either of them, but just the presence of him there can be a bit frightening – especially after what he has been subjected to as of late.

The torture has gradually slowed since the first few visits of the masked man, but it still happens from time to time. The tortures aren't nearly as severe as they were, either. Now it may only be a few new cuts, or just reopening of the older ones that have started to heal – but nothing nearly as bad as the his first session. Though the sessions have been getting more and more lenient, Robbie feels weaker and weaker with each one. Even on days where he doesn't get tortured, he just instinctively feels weaker, until the weight of the pain pulls him out of consciousness.

One of the worst things about the torture sometimes isn't even the pain. It's just knowing the fact that Jade is on the other side of room, listening to each one of his screams, watching the blood, and tears drip down from him torso, and on to the floor, having to see the rips in his chest, and the distress, and misery in his eyes when he is brought back to his chains. He is happy for the fact that she doesn't share the same fate that he does, but it has to be affecting her in some way, right?

Since they've been here, Jade has shown quite the…unusual side. Sure, she is pretty unusual to begin with, but the way she's been acting since we've been here isn't the way I would expect someone to act in this sort of situation. She seems to fade in and out, sometimes as if she isn't in the room at all. It could be for the fact that she is quiet, but there are times when room feels void of existence. Where there is nothing but Robbie, and the frigid air around him. He is reassured, though, when one of the men comes into the room and lights the torch. There she is, chained up to the wall, either just staring in his direction, or unconscious.

Today is no exception to this behavior. It's dark, it's cold, and it's quiet. There is an unexplained emptiness to the room – one that couldn't be felt anywhere else in the world. Any ounce of light, heat, or noise falls down with a force of thousand pounds on Robbie's senses. He is lost in thought so much of the time; it feels as though even he isn't in the room. When that door opens and that torch is lit, reality crashes right back into him.

Robbie, while in this room, has had so much time to think. He has thought about everything he has done in his life. Everything he could remember, even back to his childhood days. He remembered all of his birthdays, and all of the things he has learned in life. Everything from his first day at school, to his first collection, the day his grandfather passed away and left Rex to him, the countless hours he put into learning ventriloquism, his fascination with electronics, and his most recent endeavor, hamboning. Sure, these things may mean nothing to everyone around him, but these are the things he loves, the things he enjoys. No matter how goofy he may be, he feels happy with everything he has done. He is happy of himself, his family, and of the friends he has made.

On that thought – he wonders - What are his friends doing? While Jade is with him here, what of the others? Have they noticed their disappearance? Are they out looking for them at this very moment? Robbie lets out a small smile thinking of his friends. Beck and Andre are probably out causing havoc trying to find them. The three guys have always been close. Beck and Andre being the strong people they are, are probably even leading the search themselves. Cat… The smile fades. She's probably in the worse shape of them all. She has always been really sensitive, even more so than Robbie. Though she had no part in what has happened, she is probably beating herself up over the fact that we are missing. Every night she probably cries…or sits up hoping that we'll return. It's hard to tell with Tori. She has always been strong herself, but also shows a lot of compassion. If I knew Tori any better, she's probably putting her fear aside to comfort Cat. These people…They truly are one of a kind. He wouldn't want to have any other best friends.

His family is one of a kind as well…

…And here it is…The crash back to reality.

The thoughts he had shatter into a million glass pieces, and dive to the floor. Robbie's eyes fixate back to the view of the room. The single door of the room just closes as his vision adjusts. The footsteps drum against the floor as whoever it is makes their way to the torch. The flare of a match lights, and then the torch itself is lit with the flash of orange and yellow glaring into the boy's eyes. It takes a quick second for his eyes to adept to the lighting, but unlike all of the previous times, there is no one there. There is no one there to feed them, no one to torture them, and no one there to just observe. The light just displays the emptiness that Robbie has felt. There is no…Jade. The chains hanging from the wall opposite to him are…gone?

A huge wave of relief makes it's way across Robbie's arms as they fall to his sides. Robbie jumps from the suddenness of his hands hitting his sides. Robbie simultaneously takes a step forward and turns around to examine the area he was just standing. His chains we're now gone as well…Still with no one in sight. He limps his way over to where Jade was standing. He swings his arm back and forth above the white "X" painted on the floor where Jade was chained.

None of this made sense to him. Robbie hobbled his way over to the wooden seat that the observer would always sit to relax his legs some. His eyes still scanned the room for anything, or anyone that may be trying to mess with him. Could this be some sort of new torture? Mental torture? Is that even a thing?

Robbie's eyes stopped and watched as the door – the border between him and escape creaked it's way open. He looked around the room one more time, and without a second thought pushed himself up off of the bench, and over to the door. The door emitted a very, very bright white light. Robbie's eyes fixated on the light as he slowly staggered in it's direction. The light intensified as he got closer and closer. He took his first step out of the room, and it all seemed to fade behind him.

Robbie's mouth dropped open, as he turned his head over his shoulder to see the room that he and Jade were locked in for so long disappeared before his eyes.

Robbie now stood in the complete opposite of the room he was just in before. The emptiness, however, was even more prominent than the dark room. This 'room' literally had nothing. No chains, no walls, no floor, no… anything. Pure white surrounded Robbie as he seemed to just float in midair.

Robbie looked up, as boxes of images filled whiteness.

Robbie stood there mesmerized, watching all of the screens displaying various parts of his life. All of the thoughts he had inside of the dark room filled the screens before his eyes. The screens played every part of his life, from child hood until the night he asked Jade to be his girlfriend. When the videos ended the screens collapsed from the air and fell into nothingness below his feet.

The screens cascaded down, but six remained. A wave of realization hit Robbie, tears forming in his eyes has he watched the final six screens.

In screen one, the events following him asking Jade out played. He watched as the yellow headlights swerved in the lane beside them, and into theirs. The sound of metal against metal as the two trucks collided filled the air. The screen panned to driver's side of the truck they were in. He watched as shards of glass propelled passed Jade's face, leaving small cuts and trails of blood in their wake. A small screech of her screaming replayed in his head…and then replayed on the screen. Jade let out a quick yelp as the airbag shot out. Robbie, in this white room, had streams of tears flowing from his eyes watching the events that occurred.

The first screen cut blank, and the second screen started to play. White and red lights filled the screen until an ambulance came into view. The screen showed Robbie, laying down in the gurney, being lifted into the back of the ambulance. He watched attentively - The video panned to his face, covered in blood and bruises – and then over to Jade as sat in the seat next to him - she watched with a worried look in her eyes down at the boy.

Screen two cut to black. Robbie shifted his eyes to the third screen, which then started up. This…however was different from what he remembered. He expected to see the events of the dark room, but on the screen he was in….a hospital?

Robbie watched as he laid in his bed, his face and chest bandaged, with just a small bit of blood making it's way through the bandaging. Jade, who also had a few bandages on her face sat in a seat right next to his bed. She hovered over the boy, and a single tear dropped from her eyes onto the boy's face. The screen cut to black.

The fourth screen lit up. The doctor walked in, he handed Jade some food from the cafeteria, and a tube was hooked up to my chest. Jade ate the food quickly, and I just continued to lay there. Jade continued to watch, but, time took it's toll on her, as she fell asleep in the chair. The screen quickly cut to her waking up the next morning. Hoping it was all a dream, Jade's face dropped in disappointment. She leaned in close, and put her lips against mine. A few seconds later, she pulled out of the kiss and looked intently at Robbie's face. A few words fell out of her mouth. "I'm sorry." She says, her head tilts downwards, and a few gasps of air escape her throat. "I am so…so sorry." The screen fades out.

Without hesitation, focus is put upon the fifth screen. This one started a bit differently than the other. The screen showed Robbie's point of view, as if he were awake at the time. There were blinding lights, and then a man's face made it's way into view. The man wore a surgical mask, and his green eyes looked intently down at him. The man moved down towards the torso area, and started to examine. A tray of tools were brought over to him, and he started to cut into Robbie's chest. Surgery. The man was performing surgery. Robbie was completely astounded by what he was watching. The man was performing surgery. Once the surgery was finished, he was wheeled back to his room, Jade still sitting the same chair she had been the entire time. Her eyes glowed in the excitement as she saw Robbie again. The look was almost immediately overshadowed with sorrow as she heard the bad news. "We are doing the best we can. There are still a few surgeries left, but at the moment, there is only a limited chance he will make it." The doctor made his way out of the room, and Jade looked back down on the boy. A pained look masked her face as she continued to stare. "Robbie…" She said. The unconscious boy, though still being unconscious, let out a very small noise from his lips. Jade let out a gasp at his reaction, and let out a soft, yet excited smile. "Hang in there…" "Stay strong." The fifth screen came to a close.

The five screens repeated the action of all of the others, and fell down passed Robbie's feet and into the white oblivion below. The sixth and final screen centered itself and began to play.

A few more surgeries played out on the screen. Each time Robbie was returned to his room, Jade looked up at the doctor – her eyes asking the question. "Is he going to make it?" Each time, the doctor replied "It's…still not certain." Eventually the day came where after a surgery; Robbie wasn't wheeled back to his room. The doctor returned to the room that Jade sat in, this time, however, the room included Robbie's parents, Andre, Beck, Cat, and Tori. – Jade knew the answer, but her eyes asked the question anyway. "Did he make it?" The doctor, with a sincere frown on his face, shook his head. The room was filled with silence, and then with sobs. Beck and Andre tilted their heads downwards, trying to hold it in. Cat cried into Tori's shoulder, as Tori let out tears as well. Robbie's parents hugged each other while tears fell down their faces. And Jade…Jade sat there. She sat there with a devastated look on her face, not knowing how she felt. Some sort of…Emptiness. Void of anything. A cold, frigid, stone-like feeling.

The screen faded to black. It shattered, and like the others fell down into the void below his feet. He watched it fall, and the white room began to change. He watched the white world around him change into the final scene. He watched himself down below, lying in an open coffin, Rex lying by his side, with the group of his friends standing around him. A feeling of lightness overcame him as he started to float upwards. He continued to watch – Tears still falling from his eyes.

The tears fell from the sky – one droplet fell directly onto Jade's shoulder. Jade took her attention away from the boy in the coffin for a brief second, and twisted her head behind her shoulder. She looked up at the sky with soft, teary eyes and smiled – and although she couldn't see it…Robbie looked back down to her with matching soft eyes, and returned that smile…

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**-V**


	5. Bonus: Before the Rain

_Victorious FF 3: "Vanishing"_

_"Bonus Chapter: Before the Rain"_

* * *

_**A/N: Hey everyone! Today I present you a bonus chapter to Vanishing. This is a more in-depth explanation of the flashback that happened during Chapter 2. Hope you all enjoy!**  
_

* * *

"Robbie…What's wrong?" Tori asked with a concerned look at the boy sitting by his locker, head tucked into his knees. Tori has never seen Robbie look this down before. The boy just let out a muffled groan from his sitting position, not budging at the Latina now hovering directly over him.

"C'mon Robbie, you can tell me." Tori kept pressuring the slumped Robbie, now sitting next to him poking his shoulder incessantly. Robbie continued to sit there, trying to slap her hand away from his shoulder.

"Tori…Please stop." Robbie said into his knees. Tori obliged, and frowned towards the sullen boy.

"You can tell me Robbie… I just want to help. Why are you so upset?" Tori asked one final time, before starting to stand up, about to head to their first period class. Robbie let out a long sigh and picked his head up from his knees, and looked up at the girl who was once again hovering over him.

"I…" Robbie started before cutting himself off.

"Yeah...?" Tori questioned. Robbie tilted his head back and leaned it against the locker behind him letting out one more sigh before continuing.

"I can't get a date to the Prome, okay? I've already asked Cat, but she's already going with someone else apparently. I've asked a few other people – they just laughed. Even Sinjin got a date…" Robbie sighed once again.

"Wait, who is Sin'jin going with?" Tori tilted her head in confusion.

"Your sister." Robbie replied blankly.

"Ew." Tori scrunched her face up at the thought – which caused Robbie to laugh a little bit, just slightly cheering him up.

"Will you go with me, Tori?" Robbie asked, looking up to the girl with puppy dog eyes. Tori really wanted to help him – but since she was managing the Prome she knew she wouldn't have the time.

"I would…Robbie. Just I'm going to be so busy running the Prome, that I-" Tori started to explain before Robbie dropped his head back into his knees and let out another small groan. Tori really did feel bad for him – seeing him so upset. With her kind-nature she really couldn't just let him be alone for Prome. Even though it wasn't really her fault, she felt obligated to help.

"I can't go with you…But I will help you find a date. I promise." Tori told the boy, holding her arm out to help him so they can head to Sikowitz's room before they were too late. Robbie picked his head up once again, and took the girls hand.

"You will?" Robbie asked, still with a small pouting face as he was lifted off the ground. They started to walk down the hall towards Sikowitz's class.

"Yeah." Tori smiled towards the now slightly uplifted boy. Robbie smiled in return.

* * *

Earlier that morning

* * *

There was one very specific girl Robbie wanted to go to Prome with – one that he knew would never go with him in a billion years. He never even considered asking her as it would probably end in some sort of physical harm. Although she wasn't always the nicest to him or the most reliable in bad situations – there were times when she was actually a human being. This side didn't show too often, but when it did, Robbie could relate to her more than any of their other friends could. Whenever that wall of darkness retreated it was as if they were the best of friends – they had the same interests, same sense of humor, everything… However, when that wall rebuilt itself, all of that was gone. She went back to being… well…a grunch. Those rare times of defenselessness kept drawing him back to her. The real Jade West.

Since he knew getting Jade to go to Prome with him wasn't an option he decided to ask another one of his crushes, Cat Valentine. She was a pure, sweet girl – a girl he had a crush on for a long time. It wasn't until he recognized Jade's other side, that he realized that Cat just wouldn't be right for him. Sure they had a few things in common. They we're both nice, and quite goofy people – but they honestly didn't have much in common when it came to actual interests. He was probably one of the only people in their group of friends who actually understood the fantasy world Cat lived in…He just couldn't fully embrace it the way Cat had done. He still loved her to death; just he wasn't able to see himself with her after realizing this. He still decided to ask her – he knew that in everyone else's mind they were pretty much perfect for each other. Since he knew Jade would never be his date, he felt he should work toward building his relationship with cat more. Love was a complicated thing…

After building up enough courage to ask her, he had found out that Cat had already been asked by some football player that went to a different school. It seemed like a bad excuse…but he wasn't about to question the girl about it – it's not like he could force her to go with him.

With his two primary choices out of the way he didn't have too many viable options left. There was Trina, however at this point he had dropped all feeling he might have had for her previously. That crush lasted a total of about five days. It was his first kiss, so it was more his body reacting to her than his mind. He considered asking her – since she was better than no one, but that plan went down the drain immediately when he discovered that she was going with Sinjin. How that even managed to happen he would probably never understand… At this point he was really feeling down – Even Sin'jin got a date before he did.

The last of the girls in the group was Tori. Tori was a really close friend to him – he wasn't sure if he'd feel comfortable going with her. He was definitely close to her he thought, but it just didn't seem like something that would work out. There was also the fact that she was the one who was running Prome, so it's not like she'd have any time for a charity case like himself.

With none of his actual female friends an option, he asked some other girls around the school – some of Rex's female friends. Every single one ended the same way – laughter. Some were more violent (Both verbal and physically) than others with their rejection, but by the end of the day he was both humiliated and bruised. Life had just been stomping on him whenever it got the chance… He went over to his locker, grabbed his books, and decided to slump down by his locker until the bell rang for first period.

Robbie and Tori walked into Sikowitz's class about 5 minutes late. Unfortunately for them Sikowitz tends to make anybody who's late do embarrassing acting challenges. This challenge for some reason or another ended up with Robbie lying face down across four student's laps and Tori's arms shoved in a tote full of spam and other various lunch meats. After the five to ten minute skit was complete, Sikowitz continued to explain to the students about his upcoming play revolving around a 1930's gangster who wanted to start his own gangster colony on Jupiter. Everyone in the class fought over who was going to be the lead in the play, like always – Jade and Tori being the most persistent. Every time there was a new play, they would make a bet on who would be the lead female (Since about 90% of the time it was one of them.) Spoils varied from a simple embarrassing display in the hallways to something really complex.

"You're on Vega. If you lose, you have to wash my truck for an entire month. Three times a week." Jade said with a confident smirk. Tori shrugged it off – she knew she had this one in the bag. She had made a previous deal with Sikowitz earlier in the year – to perform for a colleague's party in exchange for a lead role in any one of his plays for the year. She had not yet redeemed the lead role – and the stars must have aligned in a perfect way, for today, she knew exactly how she was going to use it.

"Alright." Tori smirked. "If I get the lead, you have to go Prome with the boy of my choosing."

After hearing this, Robbie knew exactly what was going to happen. His mouth dropped in surprise – SERIOUSLY? He might have the opportunity to go to Prome with Jade? He was both scared and happy at the same time.

Jade eyes shot open, her eyebrows dipping far down into the bridge of her nose, and an overall devilish demeanor painted her face. Tori continued to keep a straight face – not yet telling her who the boy was going to be.

"Who…?" Jade gritted through her teeth.

"You'll have to make the bet to find out, Jade." Tori played it off as if she had nothing up her sleeve. Sikowitz leaned close between the two girls in interest at this little conflict, sipping through the red silly straw jammed into a coconut.

"Fine." Jade reluctantly agreed. She had better get this part or else the boy she was forced to go to prom with would probably be dead by the end of the night.

Sikowitz clapped his hands together, and broke the two girls apart, and walked back towards his desk. Tori gave a quick nod in Sikowitz's direction, and Sikowitz gave a quick nod, wink, and held up an 'okay' gesture with his hand in return.

"Alright class, you are now free to go do…whatever you teenagers do. The role sheet will be posted tomorrow, try not to injure yourselves until then." Sikowitz announces to the class, shooing off the students with his non-coconut beverage'd hand.

As all of the students exit the room, Robbie rushes towards Tori in the hallway.

"Jade? Seriously?" Robbie whispered in a panicked tone.

"Oh c'mon Robbie. Jade's not…that bad." Tori whispered back with mixed feelings about what she had just said.

"I mean…I don't mind going with her, but don't you think she'll have a problem going with me?" Robbie asked, looking around his shoulders just in case Jade was behind them.

"Listen…Jade and I make these bets all the time, and we always do them without complaining. You have nothing to worry about…" Tori tried to calm Robbie down from his panicked state.

The two continued to talk about the bet, then somewhere along the lines switched topics to some tween show they both love for some reason, even though it's nowhere near their age demographic. The rest of the day went by fine – Robbie still having mini panic attacks throughout the day, but he would just remember what Tori said and it calmed him down some. During lunch Robbie sat across from Jade. He had bought a salad for lunch, but ended up not eating it – he would just pick at it with his fork. In between picks he would glance up at the girl he would soon be going to Prome with. He was still happy, still scared, still nervous. New worries came up – What would Beck think of this? He's a pretty tolerant guy, he knows it's just a bet between her and Tori. Also, he and Jade had broken up about two weeks ago, so it's not like Robbie would messing up their relationship or anything. Robbie let out another sigh.

The final bell rang, and everyone rushed out of the school to their buses. Robbie walked his normal 20ish minute walk home. He played some of his favorite video game – Land of Arezoth – to calm his nerves. Before he knew it, five hours had already passed by and it was time for him to shower and get to bed.

By the next morning he was feeling a lot better at the idea of going to the Prome with Jade. It had been his ideal date, after all. He guesses now since it's actually happening he didn't know how to feel about it – but as the morning progressed, the more and more confident he felt about the whole situation. The first bell rang – the students sat on the edge of their chairs waiting for the piece of paper to hit the pin-up wall in Sikowitz's room. Sikowitz already had the pin in the piece of paper, slowly moving his hand closer and closer to the pin-up board, before swiftly reeling it back – causing distress among the wave of impatient students. Finally after about five minutes of torturing them, the pin hit the board, and Sikowitz dashed, and jumped through the air behind his desk, putting on an old military helmet, watching as the horde of students rushed across the room to the tiny piece of paper on the pinup board. The joyed cheers and saddened groans filled the room until on shout silenced the room.

"DAMN IT!" shouted a more than enraged Jade from inside the large crowd of students. Jade pushed her way out of the crowd, probably injuring several of the students she pushed, and slumped back into her chair. Tori came out a few seconds later doing a little gleeful dance, much to the annoyance of Jade. Tori sat down next to Jade, and looked at her with a goofy smile until the Goth finally turned her head to confront the annoying ball of happiness.

"Who is it." Jade gritted through her teeth, much like she did the previous day. Tori's smile stayed in-tact. Jade's eyebrows sunk farther and farther down.

"WHO. IS. IT." She repeated with forceful emphasis on each word.

"Robbie." Tori said simply. Steam could almost be seen shooting from the ears of the raven haired girl. Her face got an impossible shade of red, and her teeth grinded like an earthquake.

Silence filled the room, as all attention went from the role-sheet to Jade mini-implosion. Small whispered obscenities escaped Jade's mouth before finally saying something back to the giddy girl.

"F…ine." Jade tried to compose herself. The two girls also had a second bet – one that had been going since they first started their usual lead-bet. If either of them ever complains about the outcome of one of their bets, the other would have to do anything – ANYTHING – of the opponent's choosing. Tori seemed like a sweet enough girl – but Jade wasn't about to risk being subjected to an off-limits demand from anyone.

Jade stood up, walked over to Robbie who was sitting in his chair a few rows ahead.

"Robbie…We're going to Prom together." Jade tried as best she could to not physically attack him. Robbie just smiled at the girl and shook his head. Jade stiffly stood up and stomped back over to her seat and sat down – without saying another word for the rest of the day.

Two weeks had passed… It was finally time for Prome.

Jade seemed to have cooled down over the last two weeks. She figured it would just be a small three hour annoyance more than anything. Half of her anger was because she lost to Tori, anyways.

Jade dressed up in a dress she had received as a gift from a record label for some music video she had been an extra in. It was a very modest and tasteful dress, one you might see a celebrity wear to an awards show. She decided to go with purple streaks, because why not? She spent more time than anyone would expect her to spend to go on a 'date' with Robbie Shapiro. In the end she looked as if she actually wanted to be going.

Robbie wore a simple black tux, with a black undershirt – but used a dark purple tie (Since it was Jade's favorite color – Other than black, of course.) He had some black dress shoes in his closet he would wear to formal events – so he used those. Since Robbie didn't have a car, and wouldn't dare let his parents drive them to Prome, Jade would be the one driving them. It was now about an hour away from the time Jade said she would pick him up – he decided to go the flower store 2 blocks away and pick up a bouquet of flowers. Since Robbie knew nothing about flowers, he just got the best looking purple ones they had and hope they would work. He quickly walked back home since it was almost time for Jade to arrive. (He had spent a bit more time than he had expected inside the flower store.)

With one last spritz of cologne, Robbie stepped out the door as Jade's monstrous 2006 Black Ford F-150 drove up to the side of the road in front of his house, the sound of very fast heavy metal blaring through the cracks of the windows. The driver side door swung open, and from underneath the truck Robbie could see some stylish black heels reach their way to the ground. The heels clacked around the front of the truck, and Robbie's mouth just about shot it's way to china from the speed it fell. Robbie was stunned by what Jade was wearing – he was also stunned that she went through so much effort for a 'date' with him. As Jade approached the dazed Robbie, she tilted her head back, rolled her eyes and let out a small groan.

"You got flowers?" she droned.

"I uh- Yeah." Robbie managed to spew out. Without a second thought he extended his arm out to hand Jade the flowers. She looked down at the flowers, then back to Robbie while arching an eyebrow.

"You do know the only reason I'm going to prom with you-" Jade started to say, before getting cut off by Robbie.

"Prome."

"…Right. The only reason why I'm going to …Prome… with you is because I lost a bet with Vega, right?" She continued to ask, still holding her arched brow.

"Yeah, I know." Robbie smiled. "I know it's not technically a real date…But I'd rather have you as a fake date over anyone else as a real date any day." he continued, keeping his smile in-tact. It was true after all.

Jade looked a bit taken back – she looked surprised, actually. Robbie gestures the flowers to her once more.

"Please. Take them"

Even if she didn't feel like Robbie would be a real date, he felt he should at least make it as real as possible. He's not really the master of romance or anything, but he figured since after tonight everything would go back to normal with Jade just "tolerating" him, he might as well make the most of it while he can.

Though still in a state of shock, Jade let out a small smile for just a quick second, before returning to her normal look of indifference. Jade reaches her arm out, and takes the flowers.

"Thank you…"

Robbie smiles in return, and calls back through the door to his parents, telling them that they were about to leave.

Jade makes her way to the school, going slightly faster than she should have - Robbie had kept an eye on the speedometer the entire way. At the prome, the two briefly met up with their group of friends. Everyone complimented them on their accidental clothing synergy. Jade guesses that it was kind of cool that Robbie didn't look like a complete dork. Slowly during the night the dark wall that was Jade West deteriorated in front of Robbie.

Robbie honestly didn't know what came over him. As Jade's dark wall vanished, his ability to connect with her – as he previously expected – continued to incline. He was saying things, and making jokes, that he would previously never even think of. The two worked off of each other in a way.

The night continued on – there was about 20 minutes left. Time flew by, Robbie thought. If he could, he would stay here for hours.

"Alright, everyone." The DJ started to announce over the mic. "It's time to wind things down with the final song of the night. Boys grab your lovely dates, and bring her in to the dance floor for one last dance."

As the Dj's voice faded out, a slow song started to play over the speakers. Robbie looked to Jade, who was sitting on a chair along the wall, and held out his hand. Although Jade had clearly stated at the beginning of their 'Date' that there would "absolutely be NO dancing," she grabbed his hand and followed him onto the center of the dance floor. Those last few minutes seemed like days. The two were lost in a trance, one that could only be broken by the yells of their friends who were now surrounding them. The song had been long over – about 5 to 10 minutes – and everyone was starting to head out to the parking lot. Tori stood by them with a really large grin, Andre gave Robbie a thumbs up, Cat held a piece of her red hair in her mouth and slowly twisted back and forth, while beck stood there with a passive look on his face.

The trance wore off, and Robbie and Jade looked around to the group of friends.

"Looks like you two had fuu-uunnn." Tori almost squealed the last part. Jade took her eyes away from the group, and back to Robbie who she was still locked in a slow dance position with, and pushed him away.

"I felt sorry for him, that's all. Having to use a bet to get someone to go with him to prom… Pathetic." Jade scoffed, crossing her arms and looking away from the curly-haired boy.

"C'mon now, Jade you don't gotta mean to the guy." Andre spoke up.

"Whatever, let's go." Jade said, as she began to walk towards the parking lot.

The group went their separate ways, all having their own individual dates to ride home with – except for Tori who got a ride from Beck. The drive home with Jade was mostly in silence; Robbie thinking about what Jade had said. Jade pulled up to the side of the road in front of Robbie's house – still not saying anything. Robbie opened the door and was about to step out – before turning back to face his 'date'. He looked at her for a quick second, and she at him.

"Did you really mean what you said back there?" Robbie asked, kind of down. He thought they were actually starting to get closer.

Another few seconds in silence.

"Yes." Jade simply replied. Robbie slowly formed a frown on his face, and nodded his head in understanding. He turned around to leave the truck once again, but was stopped by Jade reaching out and grabbing his shoulder. Robbie turned back around to face her.

"But. I did have a good time. You weren't as terrible of a date as I thought you'd be."

Robbie's face glowed, followed by a big grin spanning from ear to ear.

"So do you want to go on an actual da-" Robbie started to ask, before Jade leaned in and gave a quick peck on Robbie's cheek.

"Goodnight, Shapi-" … "Goodnight, Robbie."

Robbie sat there in shock – incomprehensible words falling out of his mouth. It was actually a strangely sweet moment. Jade wasn't even aggressive or threatening at all.

"If you tell anyone I just did that, I will make it so you are never able to tell anyone anything EVER AGAIN."

Well…So much for the non-threatening thing. Robbie just nodded his head, probably not even acknowledging the threat. Jade shoo'd Robbie out of her truck, and drove off. The stricken boy just stood there for a good five minutes before finally heading inside – not once taking his hand off of that cheek.

For Robbie Shapiro, thing we're starting to look up.

* * *

_**A/N: ...And that's a wrap! Hope all of you have enjoyed this entire story - it has definitely been one of my favorites. Please leave a review, let me know your thoughts! Thanks for reading,**_

_**-V  
**_


End file.
